Thu, 10 Aug 2017 11:11:18 -0500WeeblyWed, 23 Sep 2015 22:47:43 GMThttp://theblacktulipstudio.weebly.com/words-from-the-black-two-lips/feeling-grateful-for-mabonFeeling grateful on this Mabon day. Here is a little story of a cat.When I came to New Orleans in 2010 I literally only had a backpack, one small suitcase of personal items. The only art supplies I had were a sketchbook and pencils I bought at a drugstore on my way to the Greyhound station in Mobile to come here.Due to personal trauma, I was left with just these things. I had met those who worked at Voodoo Authentica of New Orleans Cultural Center & Collection later that year and a friend , Dora Hembree suggested I try to sell this little cat figurine I made for her. Brandi C. Kelley has been nothing but supportive of my needs and art since!They later became known as Muerto Meows. My first real showing of my art was at the New Orleans Fringe about five ? years ago. There I met the fabulous Princess Parchuke who was so kind to this newcomer. She gave me a lot of good advice and I did follow it.As things progressed I met the wonderful Reuben Cheatem and Emily Lovejoy at a show at the Eiffel Society on St Charles. They were welcoming and helpful in what I needed to do to help advance my career. I took their advice to heart too.It isn't always an easy road and there are times I feel I am not doing enough, or the right thing...but I've had nothing but grand adventures as a professional artist here in this city I love so dearly.And it all started with a little silly looking day of the dead cat with sparkling eyes. Thank you. ]]>Sat, 26 Jan 2013 02:42:51 GMThttp://theblacktulipstudio.weebly.com/words-from-the-black-two-lips/when-one-lives-with-a-crafter

The majority of my "formal" art training deals in paint,pencil, airbrush and design...I was never good at "crafts" or so I thought. I define crafts as anything that is basically not a painting or traditional sculpture. That was an elitist ideal I admit, and one entertained by most fine artists still. Not that I turned up my nose or saw them as lesser artists, just something I thought I'd A) not have the skill/patience/ intertest in pursuing and B) Have the time! My family were crafty people. They crochted, sewed, made little decrorative and useful items all of the time. The kind you see at arts and crafts fairs. The kind of things now completely permeating the new market place of the internet; such as Etsy, Ebay and Pinterest and YouTube.

Remember the days for us artists , when we wanted instruction that didn't include paid for schooling we relied on video tape intructions one could order from any art catalogue or wait eagerly for your local PBS station to show Bob Ross' show "Joy of Painting" and his happy clouds or one of my personal faves, Helen Van Wyk who hosted "Welcome to my studio" .

Now ANYthing can be learned on YouTube in the arts and crafts genre. Very inventive and fun things too! That leads me to the photos and the title of this post. I live with a very talented crafter and artist. She is obsessed ( I mean this pretty literally) with beads, wire and glitter. More so, she has opened up my pre mentioned slightly art snobby eyes to her world. One day she eagerly sat me down in front of the computer to show off her newest finding on YouTube. What things you can do with Aleene's Tacky Glue .It seems, when Aleene was testing to see if it was flammable or not, she discovered a nifty thing and this was revealed to us with a squirrel like excitement how cool it was!. On any surface, but they used a paper bag cut out in a preferred shape, smear the glue on thickly. Have a high flamed candle and run the glue coated surface along the tip of the flame to make it soot black. ( have the item on something like s stick, wire, etc so your fingers aren't near the flame and all the surface can be heated ) Leave it a bit longer in some spots and let it bubble up like some mad scientist experiment! You can then carefully push the still soft but sooted/burnt glue around to make patterns. When it is dried more, gently rub off the soot and a smooth, volcanic glass like substance is left behind. On top of that rub in metalic paint. paste..paint..etc..and it adheres to the ridges and glosses over the smoother spots.Then Viola! You have faux metal.As you can see on the examples I did above it looks pretty nifty eh? Those were done on cut out corrugated cardboard. I smeared some gold and silver dust used in my clays, then spots of paint. The larger heart had coloured 24 gauge wire glued to it underneath and I simply scratched off some of the dried glue over top to reveal the red wire underneath. You can imagine the limitless possibilities. This can be done on wood, paper, plastic..anything. The glue protects the surface underneath and you don't hold it over the candle stationary. Look up the idea on YouTube or on Aleene's site for tutorials. The larger photo are the hearts taken under an incandescant light and the second is under a full spectrum light.So, now I am using this glue thingy technique on EVERYTHING...and thinking of the possibilities of how to embellish ATC/ACEOs, paintings, cards, gift boxes..etc. THIS..is what one gets when they live with a crafter! Thank the gods...

January can be a tough time of transition for most full time artists. It is a bit difficult at times to come down off the holiday buying frenzy high - when it seemed everyone was commissioning items from me for gifts for their loved ones. Left and right, I was handed money, asked for more things. I was working right up until Solstice and only then had the time to actually make the things I wanted to gift my friends and loved ones. I loved it though. That frenzy of activity and of course, the money that went right back out into the economy to purchase extra little gifts and feasting supplies!Now, my commerce has lowered to a drizzle of offers. I am very grateful for what I do get , of course. It is a lean time in the pantry now and after essential bills had been paid, and the last extravagance of New Year's feasting was done...it is back to rice suppers. However, me and the artist I live with have been just as , if not more , busier than ever in our studios. I have had a few sparse projects here and there from some internet sales, but mainly I am able to focus on two things. Organize and clean the newly required studio space and dream big on how someday, it will be all mine. Owned.The other thing is to work on projects I wanted to do. Large scale paintings and smaller works, like more illustrations and ACEO/ATC cards.

This down time also gives me space to think, plan and prepare for what I feel will be a very very busy upcoming year. The next Chinese year will be of the Snake. Black Water snake to be exact. It means more profit..but with an air of caution. This is the year to read the small print, do one's homework, and be mindful of everything. That is sometimes an obstacle of mine. I get so excited when any offer comes I forget to sit back and think about it. I have this tendency to pounce upon ANY chance to exhibit my works in a stone and brick Gallery like a starving man on a piece of bread. Eager is good. Desperation is unattractive. It sends the wrong vibes and more often then not, you don't get what it is you wanted so badly. I had currently sent my website address to a gallery in the French Quarter, Creason's Fine Art Gallery .I come across Greg and his gallery via ART New Orleans Magazine ( which I discovered via their local PBS show). Check them out, as well as their Facebook page. I was thrilled to had gotten such a nice and prompt response from the Gallery owner, Greg Creason. Of course, I was then tossed into stomach churning anxiety as I sent my little growing website with its smaller showcase of what I considered my best existing pieces thus far. I even considered showing him what I had sold at the 2011 Fringe Festival in New Orleans....but didn't yet. I take stock in the fact he can look through all the links I offered that shows the body of work from years past as well.So, I sit here, biting non existent nails, not knowing when he looked through my portfolios, who may had looked with him and what they truly think. Does he love it? Does he hate it? Does he think I "have promise" but will need to step up the bar and get back to them later? I don't know yet.

It is an exhilarating yet slightly nauseous process, this fallow time. I am doing my best to enjoy it and use it to my full advantage. Take stock in what I have, build up my works and prepare for anything. Mostly, ironically, the hardest thing for artists to prepare for is success. It is daunting. We have heard all our lives that as an artist we must "suffer and starve" and MAYBE get recognition after we died. That is truly hogwash. I have spent many tear drenched hours rewiring my brain to NOT accept that as a given reality. I am ready now to accept. The seeds lay dormant under the turned and harvested soil ; still hard with frost...but when the sun warms the Earth, they will come back. So will I.PAX

It is a big leap from working in one's bedroom sitting on the bed and using a tote that holds all the art supplies you currently possess for your draft table/easel...to actually having a SPACE for art and more supplies to organize. I had spent numerous years of building. tearing down, losing, building back up again of too many studio spaces to recall since I was in my teens. I had never had the fortune, luxury, or ability (pick one) then to have a "professional" studio. Professional meaning a place that is solely dedicated to the creation of my art, to showcase finished pieces and meet new and existing patrons. Very recently I had a small but cute house fall into my lap, almost overnight. It is a work in progress. It has no working bathroom ( I must haul water from my home next door to fill the toilet tank to flush it) yet, no gas or running water (obviously) ..but the most important things I have. That being lots of space to work,storage and electricity. The natural light isn't too bad. The decor, well, it has much to be desired now but that doesn't matter. I have room and it is mine. It is shared with an orange tiger striped tabby named Belle and other personal items. I do not legally "own" this space yet but I know to the core of my being it will be mine soon.I am not even sure how this will transpire but that matters not. Sometimes we don't have to know how something will manifest, but only need to know that is WILL. Having faith that the Universe will provide what I need/desire has been a long and often bumpy road but I have acquired that skill....even with an occasional stumble along "doubt path".

I, like every other passionate artist, believes whole-hardheartedly that my artwork will pay for it. Who knows how the funds may come. It is always wise to ask for what you want with very specific terms and conditions for the Universe, then add ..."...or something better". What could be better? My own studio/gallery in the French Quarter given to me free and clear by some wealthy art patron. No strings attached besides that I create. Well, I must create, no matter if it is from a tote, a house in progress or a well to do flow blown professional studio with big fancy warehouse size windows facing North for the perfect light. I have to create, paint, sculpt ,draw or wither and die. It is that simple. So, this is my new space. It may not be pretty, or complete , but it is one of the most beautiful places I know of.

The koi are a symbol of strength, perseverance, luck, prosperity, abundance, harmony and long life. In asian mythology the koi spend their life fighting up the Yangtze river. If they survive the journey, they become a dragon of good helping those that helped them. I figured the best way to begin this blog was with a strong symbol. One to bring in all those elements listed above. Also, being born the year of the dragon I'd like to consider myself transformed. I have had many many experiences and people help me greatly all my life along this twisting and unexpected path as an artist and person. So now, I feel it is my duty, right and great privilege to return this favour, as the legend of the Koi transformed to Dragon implies.So how do I plan to do this with a humble artist's babbling blog? It seems a very simple idea for me. I have this dream of helping to promote and showcase artists of like mind with me.

Who I am ( or at least the image I give) is plastered all over my little bios on various social networks and on line portfolios and shops. It is here too. So I don't feel a need to repeat it again and again. One may think I have a huge ego. Well, okay, I have a healthy one I have anxiously nurtured over the years.So again, back to my dream. It starts with the name of My Etsy Shop. The Black Tulip. That reference is from a public room I have on the 3d chat program imvu. The reason I chose that name for that room was because of a poem I love. It spoke to me and my "gothy" vibes." Between the dark and the daylight,when the night is beginning to flower,comes a pause in days occupation, That is known as the Black Tulip hour "~Henry Wadsworth Longfellow~

So cool huh? Anyway, my dream.

To gather and help promote like minded artists in a virtual AND outerworld gallery. Outerworld is a fond term for the life outside of this cyber one. What most people call " Real Life". All of this is "real" so, that term is too misleading. I came to use that term Outerworld thanks to my Beloved.What would be considered like minded artists? Well, I can't just say Gothic or dark or vampyric or pagan or spiritual , etc etc etc....that is too narrowing but that is a basic start.Yes, I want other "goth" artists. Yes, I want others who follow the aesthetic of the classic Victorian Gothic vampyre ideal. Yes I want pagan and/or pagan friendly types. Yes, I want eco warriors, mystics, shamans, spiritualists, theologians...of all walks of life and religions that share a common thread.Is this asking too much? Well, no. I don't really think so. This is a project that will grow organically and of its own pace. As eager as I am to see something "tangible" I know I have to move at the Universe's speed. It knows best. It always does.

For now, I will be content to show off my work and ethics and those I love and admire around me in the artistic field. It is a humble start, but all acorns grow into trees eventually with a bit of help.

I'd best end this post now or ramble on like a brook. Please, feel free to leave comments, ideas, questions...I don't mind what. Just SOME kind of feedback. It is an energy I thrive on and need for this monumental project. Until later,PAXKristof